PBCS Movie Standings: "Think Like a Man," Dominate the Box Office

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Each week we run the box office numbers through our proprietary formula that tabulates receipts, the film's budget, the number of screens and critical response to see not just who made the most money, but who is really performing well.

When "The Hunger Games" won its fourth consecutive weekend at the box office, it was tempting to look ahead at the next slate of contenders and think that Katniss Everdeen had a real shot at winning yet again. The only competition out there would the G-rated "Chimpanzee" documentary (have fun calming your 4-year-old while he watches a band of chimps hunt, kill and eat a monkey), Zac Efron in Nicholas Sparks' "The Lucky One," and an ensemble comedy based on a book by comedian Steve Harvey, "Think Like a Man."

But, lo! ""Think" swept the table, taking all three days, and earning $33 million. Kevin Hart, one of the stars of "Think Like a Man," has been down this disrespected road before. In September, he released a film of his stand-up work, "Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain," which opened on only 98 screens and still managed to take in $1.9 million (that's nearly $20,000 a screen), good enough for 13th place, on its way to grossing $7.7 million. This guy puts fannies in the seats, as they say. Throw in folks like the talented Taraji P. Henson and Romany Malco, and "Think" had the makings of a box-office champ. Here's the top 10, via Box Office Mojo:

Not only did "Think" smote "The Lucky One" and "Hunger Games," it did so with a relatively small release of only 2,015 screens--1,140 fewer than "Lucky"--and with half the budget. Which is to say that when you run the numbers through our highly scientific formula that factors in all these variable, as well as critical response, "Think" crushed everything in site on its way to taking the first post-"Hunger Games" PCBS title:

As impressive a showing as it was for "Think," it's probably a one-and-done for the romcom, as next week sees the arrival of four wide releases appealing to varying audiences: "Five-Year Engagement," starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt; the kid-friendly animated adventure "The Pirates! Band of Misfits"; "The Raven," a time-period thriller starring John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe; and "Safe," a throwback action film starring Jason Statham.

Published at 7:53 PM EDT on Apr 22, 2012 | Updated at 2:45 PM EDT on May 30, 2012